Yesterday, environmental and local leaders gathered in San Francisco to urge voters to reject Proposition 32 — a billionaire-backed ballot measure that would silence the voices of working people in the political process. At the event, Michael Brune, Sierra Club's Executive Director, announced the Sierra Club's strong opposition to Prop 32 and  noted, “Backed by out-of-state billionaires like the Koch Brothers, who see California's clean energy progress as a threat, Prop 32 would silence the voices of our state's working families who share our vision for good clean energy jobs and clean air and water.”

During the event, Victor Menotti, Executive Director of the International Fourm on Globalization released a report that highlights the anti-labor and clean energy agenda of some of the largest funders of Prop 32, the Koch Brothers. The report found the Koch Brothers had spent:

• $1 million in 2010 to overturn AB 32 
• $4 million through the American Future Fund to support Proposition 32
• At least $656 million on attacks on environmental protections and workers’ rights

Other local and state environmental leaders who spoke at the event were Jenessee Miller, Communications Director for the California League of Conservation Voters; Roger Kim, Executive Director for the Asian Pacific Environmental Network; and Laura Wisland, Senior Energy Analyst, Union of Concerned Scientists; and Lisa Hoyos, California Director for the BlueGreen Alliance.

The Labor's Edge blog did a feature on the event. From the blog.

Menotti was joined by other academics who underscored the fact that anyone who respects science, the environment, workers and the truth should immediately recognize the Kochs and Prop 32 as an enemy to all of the above.

Laura Wisland of the Union for Concerned Scientists:

"These overt, well-funded attacks on labor rights are in the same realm as the overt, well-funded attacks on science -- and both, if successful, will weaken our democracy. Make no mistake: Prop 32 would be the first step in a renewed effort to kill California’s environmental advances and threaten hundreds of thousands of green-technology and clean-energy jobs. The Union of Concerned Scientists sees through this phony reform of Prop 32 for what it really is – a way for corporations to buy a Legislature that will roll back California’s environmental advances, reduce the rights of workers and silence the voices of Californians."

Check out the video from the event below: